Maternal Deaths Are Declining, But Not In The US

PUBLISHED ON 05/18/2012

The number of women dying from pregnancy and childbirth has dropped 47 percent since 1990. In a report by the United nations, maternal deaths had fallen to 287,000 in 2010, while in 1990, the UN estimated about 543,000 deaths. According to The New York Times, the decline was caused by an increase in contraceptive use, antiretroviral drugs for moms with AIDS and more birth supervised by medical professionals (nurses, doctors and midwives).

But these findings don't really reflect maternal deaths in the U.S. In the U.S., there were 21 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. In fact, maternal deaths rose an average of 2.5 percent a year between 1990 and 2008. the U.S. also did not rank in the top tier when it came to maternal health, behind Western Europe, Canada and Australia.

What do you think of these findings? What are you doing to stay healthy during pregnancy?